English Grammar Exercises: Passive 1

Exercise 1   

Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form, present or past:

cause    overtake    damage    show    hold

surround    invite    translate    make    write

1   Many accidents ……………………. by dangerous driving.

2   Cheese ……………………. from milk.

3   The roof of the building ……………………. in a storm a few days ago.

4   You ……………………. to the wedding. Why didn't you go?

5   A cinema is a place where films …………………….

6   In the United States, elections for president ……………………. every four years.

7   Originally the book ……………………. in Spanish, and a few years ago it ……………………. into English.

8   Although we were driving fast, we ……………………. by a lot of other cars.

9   You can't see the house from the road. It ……………………. by trees.

Exercise 2   

Write questions using the passive. Some are present and some are past.

1   Ask about glass. (how / make?) …………………….

2   Ask about television. (when / invent?) …………………….

3   Ask about mountains. (how / form?) …………………….

4   Ask about antibiotics. (when / discover?) …………………….

5   Ask about silver. (what / use for?) …………………….

Exercise 3   

Put the verb into the correct form, present simple or past simple, active or passive.

1   It's a big factory. Five hundred people ……………………. (employ) there.

2   ……………………. (somebody I clean) this room yesterday?

3   Water ……………………. (cover) most of the earth's surface.

4   How much of the earth's surface ……………………. (cover) by water?

5   The park gates ……………………. (lock) at 6.30 p.m. every evening.

6   The letter ……………………. (send) a week ago and it (arrive) ……………………. yesterday.

7   The boat hit a rock and ……………………. (sink) quickly. Fortunately everybody ……………………. (rescue).

8   Robert's parents ……………………. (die) when he was very young. He and his sister ……………………. (bring up) by their grandparents.

9   I was born in London, but I ……………………. (grow up) in Canada.

10   While I was on holiday, my camera ……………………. (steal) from my hotel room.

11   While I was on holiday, my camera ……………………. (disappear) from my hotel room.

12   Why ……………………. (Sue / resign) from her job? Didn't she enjoy it?

13   Why ……………………. (Ben / fire) from his job? Did he do something wrong?

14   The company is not independent. It ……………………. (own) by a much larger company.

15   I saw an accident last night. Somebody ……………………. (call) an ambulance but nobody ……………………. (injure), so the ambulance ……………………. (not I need).

16   Where ……………………. (these pictures / take)? In London?

       ……………………. (you / take) them, or somebody else?

17   Sometimes it's quite noisy living here, but it's not a problem for me - I ……………………. (not / bother) by it.

Exercise 4   

Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using somebody, they, people etc., write a passive sentence.

1   Somebody cleans the room every day.

     …………………….

2   They cancelled all flights because of fog.

     All …………………….

3   People don 1t use this road much.

     …………………….

4   Somebody accused me of stealing money.

     I …………………….

5   How do people learn languages?

     How …………………….

6   People warned us not to go out alone.

     …………………….